Privacy Policy

Goodstart Early Learning (“Goodstart”) owns and runs each local Goodstart Early Learning centre. Goodstart also employs the staff who work at each local Goodstart Early Learning centre. Goodstart is committed to safeguarding your privacy. The Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”), Australian Privacy Principles and any relevant registered privacy codes govern the way we must manage your personal information. This policy demonstrates how Goodstart collects, uses and discloses the personal information we collect during your interaction with Goodstart.

Collection of Personal Information

Purpose

Goodstart collects and holds personal information about you or your child (that is, information relating to an individual or which can be used to identify an individual), that is reasonably necessary for or related to our activities and the services we provide. The purposes for which your personal information is collected will usually be obvious at the time it is collected. Goodstart collects personal information of parents and guardians, children, employees and stakeholders for the primary purposes of providing early childhood education and care services and advocating for the well-being, protection and development of children. Goodstart will only use your personal information for the purpose it was collected or a reasonably expected or related secondary purpose.

Additional specific information Goodstart collects and holds about children may include their: name, former name, gender, address, Centrelink Customer Reference Number, immunisation status, date and place of birth, birth certificate, Medicare number, custody arrangements or parenting orders, dietary requirements, languages spoken, doctor’s details, medical conditions , additional needs, photographs and videos of children, samples of children’s work and general information about your child and your family that assists us in providing individualised early learning and care to children.

Method of Collection

Personal information will generally be collected from you directly through the use of our standard forms, over the internet via our website, via email or written communication with you, or through a telephone conversation with you. Photos and videos of children and children’s work samples are collected at their Goodstart centre. Name, address and phone numbers of children’s additional emergency contact people are collected from children’s parents or guardians.

There may be on occasion be instances where personal information about you will be collected indirectly because it is unreasonable or impractical to collect the personal information from you directly. We will usually notify you about these instances in advance, or where that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable after the information has been collected.

Failure to Provide Information

If you do not wish for your personal information to be collected you should discuss this with a Goodstart employee. Goodstart employees will act strictly in accordance with this policy and will be happy to discuss the reasons for seeking to collect your personal information. They will also discuss with you any consequences of not providing your personal information, or providing incomplete or inaccurate personal information, which may include an effect on what services Goodstart can provide to you.

Use of Personal Information

Goodstart takes seriously its obligations when dealing with your personal information. Goodstart will collect, hold, and use that personal information for purposes associated with: providing early childhood education and care services; advocating for the well-being, protection and development of children; documenting children’s learning; managing children’s current or prospective enrolment; providing you with information about our organisation, services and activities via letters, email, SMS and other centre or organisation communication channels; and requesting information from you about our organisation and services via surveys.

Direct Marketing

If Goodstart has collected your information directly from you and we believe you reasonably expect us to, we will use or disclose your personal information to communicate directly with you to promote our services. Goodstart will provide you with a way to easily opt out of receiving direct marketing messages, and will stop sending direct marketing communications if you ask us to.

Studying with Goodstart

If you enrol to study with the Goodstart Institute of Early Learning, we will collect and hold personal information about you with respect to your study, including your name, address, contact details, employer, previous academic history and qualifications, work submitted by you for assessment and your assessment results. We will only use your information for purposes related to your study with the Institute and will use reasonable endeavours to keep that information secure and confidential.

Job Candidates

If you apply for a job with Goodstart we will collect and hold personal information about you relevant to your application for employment, including your name and contact details, curriculum vitae or resume, employment history, academic records, working with children and police checks, and comments made to Goodstart or its agents about you by your referees. We will use reasonable endeavours to keep such information confidential and if you do not commence employment with Goodstart, we will destroy such records when no longer required in relation to your application. We reserve the right however to retain for our records any file notes or observations we make in interviews with you or your referees with respect to your qualifications and suitability for a role.

Sensitive Information

In some circumstances Goodstart may seek to collect personal information that is sensitive. This may include information such as your child’s racial or ethnic origin or any cultural or religious requirements. We are also required by the Education And Care National Regulations to collect and hold details of your child’s medical conditions, immunisation history and additional needs. We collect this information as it is reasonably necessary for ensuring the well-being, protection and development of children in our care.

For example staff may wish to develop an educational program that includes reference to a child’s country of origin.

Goodstart will only collect your sensitive information with your consent and will ensure that it is stored securely. If you do not wish for your sensitive information to be collected by Goodstart, you should discuss this with a Goodstart employee.

Goodstart employees will act strictly in accordance with this policy and will be happy to discuss the reasons for seeking to collect your sensitive information. They will also discuss with you any consequences of not providing your sensitive information which may include an effect on the services your Goodstart Early Learning centre can provide to you.

Disclosure

Goodstart will only disclose your personal information for the purpose it was collected or a reasonably expected or related secondary purpose.

We may disclose personal information about you or your child to:

third party service providers, who assist us in operating our business (including credit reporting bodies, collection agencies, legal advisors and technology service providers). We will take reasonable steps to ensure these service providers do not breach the Australian Privacy Principles. These providers may be based overseas or use overseas infrastructure to perform services for us, including in the U.S.A., Singapore and New Zealand.

a purchaser of the assets and operations of our business or a part of it, provided those assets and operations are purchased as a going concern

child protection agencies or family support agencies when we reasonably believe that a child is at risk of significant harm, as required by Goodstart’s Child Protection Procedure.

Goodstart will not otherwise disclose personal information to a third party for any other purpose without your consent unless it is authorised or required by law.

Access and Correction

You may request access to your personal information. Ordinarily Goodstart will require you to make a request for access in writing directed to the Goodstart Privacy Officer. Goodstart employees other than the Privacy Officer are not generally able to provide you with access.
If at any time you believe that Goodstart’s record of your personal information is incorrect, please let Goodstart know. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date.
In some circumstances which are prescribed by the Privacy Act, such as where to do so might put a person at risk of harm or have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others, Goodstart may decline access to personal information. If your request for access is denied, Goodstart will tell you why.

Internet

If you access our website, we may collect additional personal information about you in the form of your IP address or domain name. Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of linked websites and any linked websites are not subject to our privacy policies and procedures.

Information Storage and Security

Personal information collected by Goodstart will be stored securely in paper form or electronically at a Goodstart Early Learning centre and/or at a Goodstart Centre Support Office. Goodstart may store, process or back-up your personal information on computer servers that are located overseas, including through third party service providers who assist us in operating our business. Only authorised employees from Goodstart and third party service providers will have access to your information and this access will be structured in such a way as to ensure the use and disclosure as stated above. We will take reasonable steps to protect any personal information that we hold from unauthorised access, modification, misuse, loss and disclosure.

Amendments to this Privacy Statement

Goodstart may change this Privacy Statement at any time without prior notice. When we do so, we will notify you of the changes by posting an updated version of the policy on our website.

Privacy Act 1998 (Cth)

This notice is provided for your information and is not intended to limit or exclude your rights under the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth).

Complaints and Feedback

If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Privacy Act, Australian Privacy Principles or a privacy code that applies to us, please contact us as set out below and we will take reasonable steps to investigate the complaint and respond to you. If you are not happy with our response, you may complain directly to the Australian Information Commissioner.
If you have any queries or concerns about our privacy policy or the way we handle your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer at:
Postal Address: Goodstart’s Privacy Officer, 43 Metroplex Avenue, Murarrie, Brisbane, Qld 4172
Email address: reception@Goodstart.org.au
Telephone: + 61 7 3906 2000

More information

For more information about privacy in general, you can visit the Australian Information Commissioner’s website at www.oaic.gov.au